LA GRANDE, Ore. – A back-and-forth NAIA National Top Twenty clash narrowly fell in favor of the hosts tonight in Quinn Coliseum, as the No. 20-ranked Corban University Women's Basketball team dropped a 66-63 decision to the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) standings leaders in No. 17-ranked Eastern Oregon University, battling back to force a game-tying heave but came up short of the goal. The Navy and Gold trailed by eight with six minutes remaining yet were able to hold EOU to just four points over the remaining of regulation to give themselves a chance deep in enemy territory.
"Tonight was an absolute battle," began Warriors' head coach Kylie Frizell. "Our conference is so competitive, and we did a lot of things well in getting stops, we just couldn't finish it out unfortunately. We'll reset tomorrow as we have another tough opponent in C of I."
The Warriors (13-4, 6-3) suffered their second back-to-back losses of the 2025-26 season following a closely contested game in eastern Oregon, as the previously undefeated Mountaineers (16-1, 8-1) led for a majority of their first matchup in CCC action, yet Corban continuously kept within striking distance and even led at times.
However, the pesky EOU defense continued to provide trouble for Corban's high-octane offense, holding the Dubs to under 70 points for only the third time this season. Of the Navy and Gold's four losses thus far this season, three of them have come when they were held to under 70 total points and under 40% from the field. Eastern Oregon on the other hand had less total made field goals than the Warriors yet needed only 51 total attempts to escape on their home court with the three-point win. While Corban led in points scored off turnovers 10-2, EOU dominated the Mounties' saw a 28-3 advantage in points scored by bench players and a six-point edge in points scored within the paint.
A first career double-double effort from junior guard Tayla Yost, behind 12 points and 11 rebounds, provided the Dubs with the support they needed in the post after foul trouble littered the Corban lineup, playing a career-high 33 minutes in a dual guard/forward role. Meanwhile, another outstanding offensive performance from redshirt sophomore guard Jersey Huerta increased her hold on the CCC scoring title with a 23-point effort in La Grande.
Guard Kelsie Siegner mirrored Yost's accomplishments with 12 points and 11 boards of her own, yet the dual threat player for Eastern Oregon also swatted four blocks, including the penultimate three-point attempt by the Warriors. Guard Maggie Smith matched Siegner offensively with 12 points, while forward Haylee Johnson added 11 points off the bench. Huerta, Siegner, and Corban graduate student center Emilia Bishop led all student-athletes with three assists apiece.
A quick turnaround for the Navy and Gold has them traveling cross-state into Caldwell, Idaho for a 3pm MT/2pm PT tipoff against RV The College of Idaho (13-4, 7-2) tomorrow afternoon.
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